This is the mantra of the anti-war folks - "Support our troops! Bring them home!" To me, this smacks of condescension - who the hell are they to speak for the volunteers in uniform? (Another recycled Vietnam slogan that makes no sense in the post-draft era.)
But here's the trouble. If you think the war is wrong, what to make of the troops who support the war? Do you support them?
I think this question is impossible to honestly answer "yes, we support them too" to. In an all volunteer force, the men and women in uniform are more responsible than ever for their choices and conduct, and that includes whether or not to re-enlist, or even whether it is better to go to jail than lend support to a war one thinks is wrong.
A British soldier did just that - he refused to go because he felt it was illegal and immoral, and he's backing up his principles by sacrificing 9 months of his life in jail. He didn't run away. He stood firm, used the system, and is accepting the consequences. It's not wrong to demand that people pay for their moral choices. I respect very much that he's willing to pay for his (provided his British stiff upper lip stays that way). If this war really WAS illegal and immoral, I don't think I could support those in uniform who happily went.
That's as opposed to this weasel deserter who I'm ashamed to say I went to high school with. Nothing says "I'm a coward" like joining the army for its "Socialist ideals," deserting your unit, running away to Canada, living in luxury with anti-war hippies, making a name for yourself on the protest circuit, and then whining that the world is picking on you.
So can you support soldiers who support and are participating in a war you think is immoral? Or is it all just politics?
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But do you support the people volunteering to go back? I understand the "they were fooled" argument, or when people are stop-lossed. (Although as much as it sucks, that's NOT an unknown risk of signing up for the military.)
And I'm not talking about people who think the policy was bad. I did a lot of "enforcement" of the UN sanctions against Iraq, and knew at the time that the policy was at best ineffective and at worst was actually helping Saddam. But it was legal, and so my policy opinion was not relevant.
If you are in uniform and you think the war is immoral, you should be expected to pay the price of breaking your contract, which includes carrying out legal policies you don't agree with.
Fair enough. But my question is more narrow:
Can a person who does not support the war because they think it's illegal and immoral support troops who DO agree with the war?
I support troops carrying out what I think are dumb policies. I've carried out policies I've disagreed with. And I certainly understand that the military is not an at will employer. But if the argument is not that the war is simply bad policy, but is in fact illegal and immoral, then I don't understand how that can be reconciled with supporting those troops who continue to choose to be there. At the very least, those who volunteer to go back to Iraq should be in the same category in these people's minds as the President. I just wish they'd be honest about it.
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